Smaller tipi – much better!

We think that we have one seal point girl, one blue (maybe chocolate) boy and three white or lilac boys and one lilac or white girl. The seal point girl was the first one to open her eyes. The others are still opening them.

Seal (or blue) point girl

C-litter, day 7

Kitten, one week old, sleeping on Jossan’s back

Light and seal point girl, one week old

Kittens, C-litter day 2

Leroy is following us to her room and watches the kittens patiently. He loves the small cats and wants to lick them and takes care of them. They are too small, still, so he is with them only when we are there. Otherwise, he would lie all day in the tipi with Jossan.

Leroy licks kittens

Leroy sniffs a kitten

The kittens and Jossan are now in the smaller tipi, that keeps warmth better, but in a few weeks they will move to the bigger one and then Leroy can lie with them (and Albert).

Kittens and Jossan’s paw

Jossan and the kittens, day 2

I was sick at home for two days and yesterday even Jocke was at home, since it was a holiday in Sweden  and it appears that Jossan thought that it was a good opportunity to deliver the babies. She started showing that it is delivery time about 14h, but then we were not sure if it was just a drill. She decided to deliver them in our bed, it seemed, so Jocke gently took her up to the room that was meant for the kittens. We just had steamed it yesterday morning and the clean kitten towels were tumble drying when she started!

5 out of 6 kittens came out with tail first, which is less common and a bit harder for mom. They weighed 94, 96, 92, 92, 92 and 106 grams and are all pretty even in size and looks. I did not check their gender. The first one was born at 16:00 and the last one at 20:41. Jossan was tired, and we cleaned the kittens as they were delivered, and cleaned her and cut the umbilical cords as usual. After she was done, we moved her and the kittens into another, clean tipi and put new sheets and towels in there.

I had fever (still sick) and were so scared that something would go wrong, but I held Jossan’s paws during the whole delivery and talked soothingly to her and pretended I were brave. Everything went well! Our brave cat!

This morning we weighed the small ones again and they went up in weight and weigh between 100 and 114 gr now. Not bad!

They are very alert, and when I came this morning they even hissed at me. They are blind and deaf, they only feel smells and warmth now. I did not smell like mom, I guess, so our mini lions showed their lion heart, not even a day old, and tried to scare me away from their nest by hissing! I love cats, they are amazing animals with big hearts. Here are some pictures of Jossan’s small wonders.

Siamese kittens, almost one day old!

Jossan is eating well, and we feed her mostly in the tipi. She is such a good mom, she does not want to leave her babies at all now.

C-litter, day 1

C litter, day 1

C litter, day 1

Small Siamese babies are the softest pillows ever!

It is a whole summer project, I guess, but the first plants (if I do not count pelargoniums that hang outside of the net, towards the street) have moved to the balcony today.

Albert: “Work fascinates me. I can watch humans work for hours and hours.”

The cats smelled the plants carefully (that is, all cats except Albert; Albert chewed on everything but rosemary). Jossan chewed on some salad as well. The cats seem to appreciate our efforts (or, at least, they do not complain, and they showed a lot of interest in gardening).

“Rosemary, what is that good for?”

“Salad, on the other hand…”

“… yes, salad is tasty!”

Miii: “Hmmm, lavender…”

“… yuck! That is probably not edible (if you are not Albert, that is)! It smells like a hand soap!”

Leroy, The King

But, Jossan still likes to play, so we do it carefully, while she is resting. She does not have to jump around, just catch the toy with her mouth and the front paws.

Jossan, two weeks to go, resting

Jossan started hitting Albert on the head with her paw now and then (very seldom though, like 1-2 times a day) lately, without him doing anything wrong. He is so careful and really tries not to make her upset, but somehow he manages, just by being there and doing nothing. It is not a big deal, 99,99% of the time they lie together and cuddle, but still – it is puzzling. We think that Jossan is being hormonal and also – Albert is her big baby and she thinks that he really should move out, because her new small babies are coming soon.

Well, sorry Jossan – Albert is not moving anywhere! He is our baby, too.

Jossan, two weeks to go, sleeping

We think that she will deliver 4-6 kittens. Maybe 5, sometimes she looks asymmetrical.

Jossa, two weeks to go, from above

Jossan, 2 weeks to go, on the balcony

Kitty jail – the net is put! The cats are exploring the new floor.

The balcony is towards the street, on the southern side of the house. It is about 6 x 1.4m in dimensions and has two doors, one from the dining room/kitchen and another from the living room. It is pretty big. We decided to put the net on it and arrange it so that we and cats can enjoy time there without a cat falling over the fence (they would not really fall because they are clumsy, but they may jump if a bird flies too close…)

Balcony – the kitty tree is out

We have a lot also, some 1200 sqm, and Maven, Leroy and Miii go out and run there when we are out. Maven even takes walks with us through our neighborhood, without a leash. Miii and Leroy are pretty disciplined, but Maven is  best in that aspect of all of our cats. Jossan is not too obedient, and Albert never showed any interest (so far) in going out. We took Jossan out on leash since we moved here, when she was not pregnant, (it is not like a dog leash, Jossan has a little vest and a rope attached to it, at her back, it does not go around her neck. It is comfortable for her!). Jossan used to go out without vest before we moved, but she was a bit stubborn and did not come immediately every time I called her.

Leroy – living a fat cat’s dream – you are out without having to go down the stairs! And your bed is out too!

It is good for cats to get fresh air, but under controlled forms; too many cats die in traffic or kill birds and cute small animals. I know they are predators, but I find it very hard to think of our fluffy balls as cold-blooded killers.

Maven knows what I think about her killings; I screamed in horror every time she brought me dead, half dead and even – alive and unharmed ‘presents’. She was very bad when she was younger. She did not kill any bird or a mouse in about two years now. Leroy caught flies a few times, and Miii found a snail once in the garden and was very proud about that. She yelled and meawed so that everyone in Stockholm heard about her ‘catching’ a snail. Jossan is a real killer, and Albert would be the same. And I am not sure how obedient he would be. He is like his mom. An independent kitty. Independent cats cannot go out and  do whatever they want. But they should get fresh air.

We bought a plastic black net (black so that birds can see it; then they do not fly into it) and plastic tiles for the balcony. We only started arranging the kitty jail and they seem to like it so far.

Leroy, Miii and Maven still get to go out to the lot as well as to the balcony when it is sunny. Jossan is pregnant, so going out to the balcony is very good for her; she can get some fresh air that way.

Jossan is enjoying the spring weather

Cats really love to feel the wind, sniff all the exciting smells and listen to birds. Happy cats!

We will put more shelves and some plants (the question is – which plants are at the same time not poisonous for cats and taste so bad that Albert would let them grow? Hmmm). It will take time, but we are looking forward to the project!

“…I stare it down again!”

This is where the cat candy is kept (and their canned food). Leroy is trying to make me give it to him by staring at me and pointing with his whole body in the right direction.

(BTW, Leroy did not bring the toy there, Albert did. Our house is full of Albert’s toys).

Albert is better. I gave him the last dose of his medication last night and he does not seem to be in pain at all anymore. He is lively and a active as usual. He is not swollen in the chest area, and the bruising is gone. The bone is still protruding, but it feels a bit less. He is okay with me examining him and even pressing the bone slightly, but he does not like to be lifted (he was never crazy about it, but now it is even less okay than before). But he is jumping everywhere and does not sleep as much as when he was in pain.

We will go to Buba in a week or two and see what can be done, and if anything should be done at all. If he does not have pain, behaves as usual, can do everything as before, and runs no higher risk of another injury, we will probably not have him operated. That is how we reason now. We will see.

Here is Albert taking a nap next to his aunt Miii.

Albert and Miii taking a nap

A few meters from them, Jossan and Leroy are resting.

Leroy and Jossan. New summer curtains and a winter landscape in the background.

Does Jossan look a bit chubby to you?

Jossan, 35 days to go, getting a bit rounder

She is not chubby! She is pregnant and slowly gaining some weight. We expect kittens around May 19, and the dad is the same as to A and B litters; it is Albert’s and his siblings’ dad Goofy. Everything is going well so far. Jossan is fine and in spite of Albert being in total center of attention last week, she still got a lot of love and time alone with me. All cats have their special places and time with us, no one gets neglected.

Last year I took a week off when Jossan got kittens, this year Jocke planned one week vacation in the second half of May, to help Jossan at start and be there all the time with her and the small ones. I’ll of course also be with her for the delivery.

I went into the shower and Albert was in the bathroom, on the highest shelf, balancing from the shelf to the window and back like a little monkey, patiently waiting for me to be done so I could cuddle with him.

We heard a stampede of mini buffaloes up the stairs and see grandpa Leroy being hunted by a tiny white beast, faster than lightning.

Bebis is much better! Especially the sock present (yuck! But he never leaves it on my pillow, always on Jocke’s, and I am grateful for that!) shows that he is feeling great.

We see that Albert is in less pain; the medicine helps, and also, cats heal faster than humans. He is still swollen, but less. He breaths with no discomfort.  His bone is still protruding though.

Today I looked for a cat chiropractor/osteopath nearby, for a second opinion, but there are only a few who treat horses, and one who treats dogs and horses. I found a few messages on the net from other people (in Sweden) whose cats have various problems, with spine and legs that wondered about a chiropractor for cats. Others, among them veterinaries, answered that that is a not very practiced or common skill in Sweden.

I also read more about that bone and how dangerous it could be if it is pushed inwards, so I do not think I’d dare let even an experienced cat chiropractor (if we find one) manipulate our Albert’s bone. We’ll see what happens, he seems to have less pain and the tissue is healing.

Here is how he reasoned (in short); right now Albert has pain and is swollen at the place of the injury. We should wait for two weeks for the soft tissue to heal and calm down. The pain should be gone faster than that. If Albert is still in pain after 5 more days, we will get him more painkillers. At the vet #2 he got an injection, which he did not even notice. Now I am giving him drops of Metacam directly in his mouth and poor thing is taking them with little objections. He follows me like a puppy, he is extra ‘mammanödig’ (in need of his mom) right now. Jossan is his biological mom, but I am his human mom. Miii was very caring today and yesterday and licked clean her little hurt nephew. He seems a bit less eager to lick himself now, he who is always so careful about his pretty fur.

After those two weeks we will reevaluate what we should do, take new x-ray and see how it looks. Buba said that it is possible that the muscles would pull the bone back while healing. I hope that happens, but I am not optimistic, the bone is protruding quite a bit from Albert’s chest. Buba did not see the x-ray, we only talked over the phone, so he just assumed how it looks from my description. It feels much better after I talked with our veterinary Buba. Not only that he knows Albert and all our cats, but he always takes us seriously and explains everything. And he is very knowledgeable in cat health! Too bad he does not work on weekends.

We noticed that Albert limps a bit on one hind leg, but today he is running and playing more than yesterday, in spite of limping so he is getting better. We do not know if he limped before, he did not jump and run much around. Maybe he hurt his leg as well during the fall . But it is not that bad, he runs like crazy at times. We see a slight limping only when he is walking slowly.

We and Albert thank everyone so much that wrote to us, here and on our mail, for your love and support. It is very touching! Bebis is getting better fast, he is a tough little cat. Many hugs and love from us.

Last Friday Albert fell from the kitchen cupboard when he tried to jump down. He did not see me next to the cupboard, in the line of his ‘flight’ before it was too late. He tried to avoid jumping on my head and landed on the edge of one chair with his abdomen and chest. At first he seemed fine, but then he hid and was silent and did not want to play with us. I tried to lift him and check him, and he cried. I felt something hard and sharp poking out of his chest (but no blood or so) and we called one animal hospital where they told us to come there with him for X-ray and an exam.

After some waiting time in the hospital we finally got to see the veterinary and she thought that Albert seemed fine. He was silent and tried to wrestle out of her hands when she wanted to examine him, so she concluded he is ok and no X-ray was needed! We were very surprised, and pointed out the bone or something poking out of his chest and she said ‘Maybe it is a rib, maybe it is piece of his breast bone, in any case we do not do anything about it’. He did not get painkillers either, since she thought he didn’t have any pain! She told us though to monitor if his skin gets paler (in the case of spleen injury) and to come there again if that happens.

That vet was not a speciallist in cats; not very knowledgable about their behaviour anyway, IMO. Cats are experts in hiding pain, especially in front of strangers! What could we do – we paid and went home.

Albert; it is hard to find a position that does not hurt

Albert got worse on Saturday and yesterday, and the place of injury got swollen and red and poor cat could not lie as usual and had some pain while breathing. We waited one day to see if he would get better and then yesterday we went to another hospital, Albano (I am really not happy with the first one, Västerort djursjukhus, every time we go there we pay a lot and only sometimes we felt we got a good care for our cats). We called Albano before we went there and they were surprised that Albert was not X-rayed and that he got no meds in Västerort djursjukhus. So we went to Albano.

After 6 hours of waiting (it is Easter, and few veterinaries were working) Albert got an x-ray and exam. Good news – no fracture or inner organs injury. Bad news – one bone has dislocated (the one poking out of his chest) and there is an injury of connecting tissue. The operation to move back the bone would be too complicated and risky. He will probably have a bone poking out of his chest forever, but it will not hurt him after the inflammation has calmed down. Now he got an antinflammatory medication/painkiller (Metacam) and we hope he will get better fast.

Albert is one happy and playful cat; he is playing even now, although he has pain, but then he gets tired and he cannot lie down as usual, so he has to find a position that won’t hurt him as much. Breathing hurts as well.

Here is an X-ray of his injury, the green line shows where the dislocated bone was situated before, and the red arrow points to where it moved.

Albert's thorax X-ray

The injury looks so small on the X-ray, but it is pretty big and swollen in reality. You can see it a bit here on the picture where I hold him so I can show it; I did not want to stretch him too much. It is worse than it looks on the pic, the fur is hiding how bad it is.

Albert hurt

Poor Albert. We give him a lot of love and care and hope he will get better soon. Also, I put a few boxes on the top of the cupboard, so that no cat can jump there again.

I took a picture carefuly trying not to wake her up and scare her. I did not want her to fall!

It happens that some of the cats fall asleep on an odd place now and then. It also happened a couple of times that we heard a thud, ran to the source of noise and found one of our sleepy kitties completely confused, looking up at us from the floor, wondering what just happened! Luckily those things do not happen too often.

It is not easy. We are not that clever and we do not always understand what he wants. We keep on trying!

Mrrrr.

Mmmrrr?

Mrrrr!

Mrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

And then we cuddled!

Miii has longer and thicker fur now, since it is winter. Siamese cats do not shed much at all. Maven sheds ten times more than all four Siamese together.

I warmly recommend Furminator  (Swedish link: our Furminator I bought here, maybe there is a cheeper one somewhere), that helped us a lot with keeping the most of Maven hair from our furniture and clothes. Siamese like to be brushed with Furminator as well, but there is almost no hair to get from them, only a little bit during few weeks twice a year, when they change between winter and summer fur.

He is so happy when he gets it, he likes it more than his favorite cat candy! Archimedes (Ash), his grandson, is crazy about melons and Leroy likes them too, but he does not get them, because of all the sugar they contain.

Our other cats do not understand Leroy’s excitement about the cabbage. They tried and keep on trying to chew on it, but – nothing! They just do not like it.

Albert does not understand! Why does grandpa think that cabbage is tasty?

Jossan actually hit Leroy today on the head lightly with her paw after she tried a piece of cabbage (again) and found (again) that it does not taste well!

She thought that Leroy is silly and was so upset that she had to hit him in order to demonstrate how frustrated she was. It was funny.

She does that seldom, since Leroy is her dad who brought her up and she is not really bossing him around, but she is still a queen, which makes her and her opinions very important in our little cat pride. Cats do not have ranks like dogs, they have different roles, that do include a bit of ranking, but it is more loose and different than in dog packs.

Jossan does not understand either.

Here are two pictures of Albert’s kittens Arista and Aslan (Albert is father to two more kittens in Norway - two lilac point girls. He also fathered five kittens in Sweden. All of them have good homes and are healthy and happy). Many more pictures can be found here, on Janne’s blog. Aslan’s picture is taken by his ‘mom’ and Janne took picture of Arista.

Aslan, 8 months

Arista, 8 months

Albert, 20 months

Don’t you think that Albert’s kittens look like him? I think he cannot deny them!

Here it is, a cute kitchen linen towel (click to enlarge):

Many warm hugs from us and the cats!

First snow, December 2011

Hmmm, Maven is on the window on the other side of the living room. But, where is Albert?

The White Squirrel

Like his mom and brother Tjabo (Antoine, who lives up north in Luleå) Gusten grew up to be an excellent hunter of not only toys. He goes out when it’s not cold.

Gusten, 6 weeks

I was not too surprised to hear that he even tried to sneak on a roe deer! The deer noticed him and left, but Gusten continued to follow the deer in the hunting fashion! I’ve seen Jossan do the same thing with a group of five roe deer and it is so funny! Cats are about 50 times smaller than deer. I think that cats are aware of their and their prey size, but instincts are still so strong – a prey is a prey, and cats are predators.

There are some pictures of Gusten playing with a real mouse and also catching a bird, but I won’t post them here, for the faint of heart (as I am. Our cats do not bring me presents anymore. Although Leroy and Miii can cach in the best case an insect. But Maven and Jossan… that is another story. Albert does not go out. If he did, he would probably be the first cat to actually catch a deer!)

Elora and Gusten, 2011

Gusten, 2011

Gusten, 2011

Gusten hunting, 2011

Gusten in front of the fireplace, summer 2011 is over

Albert lives in our Christmas tree! The white squirrel, that is what he thinks he is.

The White Squirrel - or - Albert in the Christmas tree

Leroy is the reason we started breeding Siamese in the first place.  He was the coolest and the most charismatic cat we’ve ever seen. Social, never scared of anything, smart, emotional and loving. He took care of Jossan, Miii and all of Jossans kittens, he brought them up. He still takes care of the whole mini lions’ pride, checks if everyone is around and patrols the house regularly. He is our Siamese #1 in every sense.

Leroy as kitten. Adorable! (picture by Nathalie Ädel)

Leroy's second day at our home, 12 weeks old

Leroy in our old apartment, 14 weeks old

Leroy, 7 months old

Leroy, 9 months old, so stylish

Leroy admires mini Saintpaulia

This was the happiest day in Leroy’s life, when we (or – he) got Jossan:

Josephine, Leroys daughter, moves to us in March 2008. Leroy is 15 months old.

Leroy outside

Leroy, November 2011, almost 5 years old. (picture by Daniel Brolund)

Our little helpers in action:

A black smoke bun, someone?

I have no clue how Maven manages to fit in such small boxes and baskets!

Albert, giving a helping paw as always:

My humans have no sense of composition!

Our cats adore the blankets we use during the winter; they are soft and cosy.

The Siamese pile

Albert is so sweet and nice in temper, but I know he has a dark mind. How do I know? Just look at him! When he thinks that no one is watching, there he is, thinking about the next ritual murder of the pink pig!

"Give me all I demand, or the pig gets it!"

(picture taken by Daniel Brolund).

We thought that handsome Goofy deserved one small presentation here. Albert’s dad is 3 years old.

Agneta woke up early one morning. She heard noise that at first she thought came from the walls.

Was it mice, she wondered. No, it was Bea, standing very high, doing stuff! Agneta grabbed the mobile that was standing next to her bed and took pictures of the little explorer. After the last picture was taken, Bea fell down in her human’s bed. I thought to share the pictures here. Thank you so much for the photo, Agneta!

Bea, boldly jumping where no kitten has jumped before

It was the first time we picked the cats from a cat hotel that they were cuddling with the lady that took care of them! She really spent a lot of time with them and she seemed so sad when we got them. But, we were happy!

After they came back home, Miii decided that Jocke should be her human. I was always her preferred human. Although we planned that she will be Jocke’s cat when we got her, she picked me, there was no help. Jossan  was pretty pissed off because of that and it took them a long time until they worked out how to share me. But now Miii decided that both Albert and Jossan is too much to share a human with and decided that she is best friend with Maven and that they share Jocke! Maven is not so delighted with that; Maven likes to be close to humans, not to other cats. Siamese like to sleep close to humans and close to each other, on the Pile.

"You and I, we are best friends!" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Oh, no, a Siamese..."

When Miii came to us, 2,5 years ago, she was very shy and hid from people who would visit us. She became more and more brave and social, but that happened slowly. Last week she yelled at one friend that came by and demanded that he pets her! Then she jumped in his lap and purred and demanded more petting. She did a similar thing to another friend that came by last Tuesday.

Miii discovered that you can get what you want from other people too, not only us, her humans.

You can sit like this:

Leroy, the king of our house

Or hide a bit like this:

Albert

Or you can sit there nice as two ornaments. Albert and his grandfather Leroy:

Albert and Leroy

"Wait for me, Ada!"

On the island

Thank Jenny for these and many more pictures you have sent us. Also, a big thank you to all the kittens’ owners for the pictures and updates, we are so happy when we get them.

This is a picture of her in our corridor, taken by our friend Daniel Brolund. He took it really fast; he entered the house at the same moment as she exited the room. She was so surprised to see him coming in.

I like the reflex in the mirror that shows her perfect profile. She is so beautiful!

I will post a few pictures that we got from the kittens’ new owners. Thank you for being so kind and for updating us about the kittens!

Blanche wants to go out. But, she is small, so for now all that she can do is can look at other cats in their little yard. But, is she happy with that?

Out! I want to go mewaoouuut!

She is so cute with her double teeth.

Belle is loved by her mom and also, by her Siamese friend Cayman. She loves Cayman too, so much that she is nursing on him. Poor Cayman is nice and lets her do it. He lost a bit of fur on his tummy, though. She will stop in a while on her own, kittens sometimes do that after they moved from their mom, it makes them feel secure.

Cute as always!

Belle and Cayman

Doyle is taking well care of Phil, whose ears are (I guess) always super clean!

Cleaned! The ears must be cleaned!

Sleepy guys

"I love you, you velvety tiger!"

And what does Bea say? Miriam cleans her as thoroughly as Doyle cleans Phil. She is very fond of climbing high up on shelves and wardrobes and tossing down the things that are fun to play with. She did not break anything so far. And we hope she doesn’t!

"Even I get tired sometimes!"

That is my pink backpack that Albert dragged and left on the floor. Also, there is a mouse that he previously ‘drowned’ in a water bowl (notice how my backpack is wet close to the mouse), and then ‘tied’ it behind the handle. It looked like a ritual killing committed by a psychopath!

Albert drowns toys in the water bowls and then leaves them in the food bowls and similar regularly, but this was a bit more advanced piece of work!

What happened with Balthazar?

We were worried about Balthazar, but now we feel that he got the home he was meant to live in from the start. His humans love him so much, and he got a 2 year old Bengal cat, handsome Doyle, as a friend! Those guys are both so pretty and I got tears in my eyes when I saw the videos and pictures I got from their ‘mom’:

Safe distance, after a few days of 'hide-and-seek' (all the pictures and the video in this post are taken by Mikaela, the kitties 'mom')

This is what I found online about Bengal cats:

Bengals are highly intelligent. They like to have close contact with people and are very entertaining, because they love to play and will find something to occupy themselves. They bond strongly to their owners, either individuals or whole families, in an almost dog-like fashion. Many learn to walk on a leash, to fetch, and to ride in cars. Bengals love water. They like to play in it or with it and many join their owners in the shower or bath tub. They are not lap cats. Though a favorite person is allowed to hold his or her Bengal for a while, the Bengal prefers to sit on or near “his” person at his own discretion.

We met Doyle before Balthazar moved and he was so nice; very curious and friendly and vocal, which I liked, but he did not like to be lifted. When I tried to lift him the first time he was a bit surprised, but only said one little : “Ugh”. The next time I tried to do that (to feel his weight) his meow was more complaining, so I put him down and just petted him. He is a very nice cat, and I love animals, so it was an amazing experience for me to get social with a Bengal cat. He seemed pretty intelligent and his non-verbal communication was quite developed. It is race- and individual-specific, but you also can see when people worked with their animals; their psyche, comprehension and communication skills are more refined at animals that got a lot of time and care.

"Talk to the paw!"

"YOU talk to the paw!"

Doyle was (of course) scared and cautious and loud when Balthazar moved in, and so was Balthazar; Doyle was the biggest cat he’d ever seen! It took them a week after one hissing_hiding_and_being_scared_but_oh_so_curious start until they became best friends.

Little wonderful white Balthazar, he got his perfect home for good. Many thanks to his humans for all the love for the little one and the good home they gave them (and all the pictures! )

Doyle and Balthazar sleeping together in their cat tree.

White Siamese (or – Foreign Whites) are not common. There are very few in Sweden and Norway. The first ones I saw in Sweden were Snow Queen and Snow Princess, the cats from a small cattery called Love me tender. I was in love, but it took a few years until we got our first white Siamese, this time from our own breeding. That is Albert. We kept him fertile for some time and two ladies were interested in mating their Siamese cats with him. Thanks to that now there is five more white Siamese in Sweden and Norway, and two of them will stay at their breeder’s homes.

Also, there are two more whites we got – Balthazar and Blanche. Blanche, Jossan’s white daughter moved to Love Me Tender cattery!

Blanche was tough while we were there, for a few hours. But then we left and she realized that she is small, the other cats are big. They smell and sound differently and everything is new and scary! The humans were nice and she was petted, kissed, fed and played with, and the big cats left her alone, so it was not all bad after all. She is sleeping in her humans’ bed every night, under the blanket.

A day after she moved to her new home, she was already playing around in the apartment, but was also afraid and careful at times. During the following few days she was playing tough with the big cats, roared at them (she is tiny and they are big ) and even followed them and ‘attacked’ them as a little terrorist!

With time she got tired of all that and being the baby she is, she needed some more love and attention from the big cats, not only humans. The big cats were curious, but certain rituals had to be fulfilled. Cats have their rules and protocols and they stick to them!

Yesterday: Blanche sitting next to Sessan. Sessan is ignoring her.

This evening we got a picture from her ‘mom’. Sessan, one of the big cats came and lied next to the little Blanche and licked her! Then Coco licked her also. What a happiness for little Blanche! She is a part of her new cat family!

Today, finally: "You are small and yucky, but I'll lick you. But, only because I feel like it".

Blanche’s new mom blogs about her cats here, it is in Swedish.

We miss Blanche, but we are happy that she is so loved in her new home and that it is going so well for her! Many thanks for the pictures and regular updates to Blanches new mom, Dragana.

NO*Aceso A-litter (picture by Janne Flusund)

And, the five small ones, in Viska’s cattery, Åkersberga, Sweden! Now, they were a bit harder to get together for a picture, since they were all over the place. They are 3,5 weeks old, and already have reading as hobby!

"We love books!" (picture by Monica Lindgren)

"Catch us if you can!" (picture by Monica Lindgren)

One of Albert's and Dixie's white daughters. A doll! (picture by Monica Lindgren)

We drove to her and got Balthazar home Thursday night. (We wanted to spare him from the stress of travelling by bus, so we had to drive there in the middle of the night after we got a late call. We were back at home around 2AM).

Balthazar was out of here for two days only and he is so young so I think he will forget fast that he moved. He was so happy when he got back home to his mom and sisters.

Balthazar

This was so unexpected and saddening. We’ve never experienced anything similar, and we hope that it will never happen again.

We wish only permanent loving homes for our kittens. We are very careful with who gets to buy our kittens. But sometimes unpredictable things happen. Luckily this move lasted for a short time, and we hope that Balthazar will forget it fast.

I think he has almost forgotten it.

Cute!

Albert is neutered.

He will be fertile for a few more weeks, but his spaying is an irreversible process. It was not an easy decision to neuter Albert. He did not spray, and he was such a dream to have as a stud, but he got interested in Jossan and having him fertile would mean that we would have to keep him and Jossan separated during the time we are not at home. That is not an option. Physically it is possible, our house is big, but we do not want our cats to live lives like that. Pets come before breeding.

And he did get two litters of gorgeous kittens; four kittens in Oslo and five in Åkersberga, close to Stockholm.
So, he is neutered; our happy cuddly white cat.

B-litter turned 13 weeks

And they learned how to fly:

I can fly!

Belle and Blanche playing nicely

Blanche barks at the toy, and Bea aims to kill it, silently.

Belle, Blanche, Balthazar

Balthazar has moved yesterday to his new home.

The move went well. He spent the night bravely investigating the new place and cuddled and slept next to his own human for a few hours. He does not have a cat friend yet, but he will get one soon.

We are happy that he is one brave little kitten and that he is so much loved and cared for by his new owner already. He lives in Stockholm, so we will hopefully see him more often than some other of our kittens that moved out. Many live far away from us.

We wish all the best to little Balthazar and his human who is owned by him now!

"My toy!" (Belle and Beatrice)

Blanche

Belle

Blanche

Who is that?

Ferdinand! I mean - Balthazar!

The kittens saw mirrors before, and they were a bit excited about other cats back there.

Beatrice, 11 weeks

Balthazar (front) and Blanche

Belle

Balthazar (front) and Blanche

This is how the beginning of our evening with the kittens looked like (it is Stockholm, and summer, it is still not completely dark yet).

In the living room, Leroy was sleeping on one of his sheep

While in another room, the kittens were slowly waking up from their afternoon nap (Bea, Blanche and Jossan is behind them)

Balthazar and Belle, on another highest part of the cat tree

"You were saying?"

Both Arwen and Albert like to fetch, and their offspring is not different! 

Here is a video filmed by Arwen’s ‘mom’ Janne, one Albert’s dotter is playing and learning to fetch:

Thank you everyone for your wishes for Albert’s fast recovery. They helped! Albert was well since we came back from the hospital. Completely well, like nothing has ever happened.

Here is our white boy with huge jowls (kindpåsar på svenska) (those enlarged cheeks that make a tomcat look more attractive for female cats. I think it looks silly, but apparently I have no clue what makes male cats irresistible!). He is back from the exam and feels victorious.

Albert (and his jowls, a Foreign White almost 14 months old)

Today we went for an ultrasound of all the organs of the abdomen (after not eating for 12 hours! Albert was a bit hungry, but quite calm). They shaved his tummy and put tons of gel on it. He did not fight, but he complained and talked to the veterinary and the nurse during the whole examination.

“Maumaumaumau…”

“Oh, a Siamese! A white Siamese! He is adorable! He is gorgeous!”

People found him charming. Cats know when you admire them and they like it. Albert does not despise attention, and although he thought that having your tummy shaved and lying on the back is far from good, still, attention is nice…

And – he is fine! No tumors, signs of diseases, nothing. There was a sign that he had a bad tummy (slightly enlarged spleen), but everything looked nice, his kidneys were perfect, the liver and colon were fine, too. Albert is pretty on the inside, too!

Albert became a father again!

And – great news! Albert became a father again today, this time in Sweden, in Viska’s cattery!

Bäckbykatten's Dixie The Great, picture by Monica Lindgren

This morning Dixie (Bäckbykatten’s Dixie The Great) gave  birth to 5 healthy kittens that are right now nursing cuddled to their mom! We are so happy! We told the staff in the hospital that Albert became a father today for the second time, and he got even more compliments, admiration and praise for being so nice and gorgeous boy.

He has no clue why everyone is treating him like that, but it is in his nature to accept petting and compliments as something he deserves by his sheer existence. He is a cat. And – a Siamese one.

Here is a number of photos we took today.

And this is how it looked most of the time (one of their favorite toys is on the picture, it is made to look like a real dragon fly and we cannot leave them alone with it because of the plastic parts. They are crazy about it. The big cats adore it, too):

It's mine!

Albert thought that all the attention was very nice. He cuddled and slept next to us all night.

I started working again today, but Jocke is at home with the cats, he has one more week of vacation. Albert ate this morning and he seems fine. And he is so happy. He is not weak or anything like it, he is moving and behaving as a strong healthy cat. The whole Friday drama feels so unreal.

Friday

Albert got suddenly sick last Friday. He threw up violently six-seven times until there was only saliva left and refused to drink and eat. He screamed loudly in pain when we tried to touch him close to his tail root and on tummy and dragged his back legs while walking. He did not have fever but something was obviously wrong. We called the animal hospital that is always open and they told us to come with him immediately.

He cried all the way there but in the waiting room he went silent. After about one and a half hour we got to meet a veterinary. He listened to our story and examined Albert. He said that Albert should be X-rayed to determine the cause for his symptoms and get intravenous fluids since he got dehydrated from throwing up. He also had to stay in the hospital during the night. I started to fight tears. He is our little sunshine, always well and healthy and here he was in pain, to be separated from us. No one from our cats spent the night in hospital, ever. The vet said that they would call us at anytime if he gets worse, otherwise they would call us on Saturday after lunch hour.

We went back home, sad, thinking what went wrong, what we have done etc. Our big cats were looking for Albert and Leroy got anxiety and cried until late in the morning.

Saturday

The next day another vet called. They saw on the X-ray that Albert was very constipated so they gave him an enema and luckily that helped him pass a huge ball of digested food. He got more fluid and started feeling better. They did not have to operate him to get the stuff out. The did a blood checkup and all was fine except for one thing – ALT liver enzyme. They did not know why. He had no infection, and he is a healthy young cat. They do not perform ultrasounds on weekends, but they wanted to give him a checkup later this week and do more blood work. He was cute and charming and everyone liked him. A white Siamese! You do not see those often, if ever!

We were very relieved, but also a bit worried. Why is that enzyme elevated? His mother and father had regular checkups every year, the latest one this spring, and all the liver values were always perfect, including that very enzyme. That was not tested on Albert (yet), since he is so young and was always in perfect health.

I googled, but the results I found were inconclusive without more checkups. The vet said Albert had to stay there for one more day at least, until he starts eating and everything seems normal again.

Sunday, at the hospital

They called us again today. Albert was not eating. He was sitting in the deepest part of the cage, did not communicate with them at all and refused to eat or drink. The vet said that she thinks that he will not start eating there at all, and although the rule is that they release cats home only when they eat on their own, here she thought that Albert should go home; there he had a greater chance of getting well again. We booked a time for an ultrasound exam next week and went to the hospital to get Albert.

A nurse came into the waiting room with our little white cat. He stared into empty space, not moving, in total cramp. I called him. Nothing. I opened the cage and lifted him. He was completely stiff, no softness in his limbs, nothing. His whole being was in cramp. I kissed him and started cuddling with him, and then he said a soft: “Mew”.

“Wow, that is something!”, the nurse said. “He was totally non-responsive today”, she added.

We got special food for cats with liver problems and went home. Albert started crying in the car. He established his usual eye contact with me and cried and cried, I guess telling me all about what happened to him. He was not in cramp anymore. He pushed his little shaved paws through the net on the cage door and looked for my hands to hold.

Sunday, at home

When we got home, he yelled one meter from the entrance door and then we heard Leroy yelling back like crazy, in a tone “Albert, I hear it’s Albert!”. It was a total happiness!!!

At home Albert got so happy, he purred and showed so much joy!

He drank water, he ate some food, we got a medicine in him (a supplement that helps the liver heal). He should be isolated from the other cats, not because he is contagious – he is not – but to see if he goes to the toilette as he should and if he eats. But he is so happy to be where he always is, so we let him be with us in the living room. He cannot go to visit Jossan and kittens, they are isolated in their room, since he was in a hospital, there is always a small risk they get something there.

He has been sleeping in my lap for a few hours now, on and off and I am scared to move so I would not disturb him. He seems fine, but his bottom is sore (enema and all he passed I guess).

Albert resting, back at home

It is good when veterinaries also think about animals’ feelings, not only blood work and rules. Albert wanted to come home, I think he got sad and shocked and home-sick in the hospital (after he got better, stabilizing his condition was primary. That he knew probably that they were helping him with, that is the part when he was charming, on Saturday. After that he considered that their part was done and that he should go home).

It is good they let him go home. He does eat here indeed!

I hope that it is nothing more serious than constipation and that his liver values got off because of the tummy problems, not the other way round. We’ll know more in three days. Right now we are so happy that he is better and that we have him back.

Leroy was constipated once when he was young (he seemed to have less pain than Albert had now and the whole episode was less dramatic). He got IV fluid and some medication to help him pass food easier. It was a one time thing. I hope it is the same case here. I really do.

Cats got so tired from watching all the work. Cats love work. It fascinates them.

"Nothing would ever get done if it weren't for us!"